EXIT
is the title of a performance and research project by Kris
Verdonck and dancer and choreographer Alix Eynaudi, in collaboration
with Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek). It starts with a question: in a
traditional theatre set-up, using all the media at the theatre’s
disposal, what influence can we have on the sensory perceptions of an
audience? An audience comes to the theatre to undergo or experience
something. What stimuli do our brains absorb in the course of everyday
life, and how do they differ from those received during a performance?
The audience enters the theatre in a state of openness and
receptiveness. They sit, immobilised, in seats in the darkness of a
heated theatre. Physically, they are forced to remain passive, and
mentally, they are in an altered state of consciousness, a state of
attentiveness different from that of every day (before and after the
performance). These conditions can be manipulated, for example by making
the darkness even more complete, by raising the temperature in the
theatre, increasing the comfort of the seats, and so on. To what extent
is an artist capable of manipulating the spectator’s consciousness (and
subconscious) using theatrical means? Discover it in this extraordinary
sensory piece!

In 1880, French socialist politician and journalist Paul Lafargue, sonin- law of Karl Marx, wrote the satirical treatise Le droit à la paresse (The
right to be lazy). If he were to return to our world today with its
ever-increasing agitation, he would shake his head in astonishment. What
value does our society attach to relaxation, rest, silence, sleep, and
laziness? Are we not caught up more than ever in the relentlessness of
production and consumption? What is more, the same capitalism that
Lafargue battled against has found all sorts of ways of exploiting our
rest, relaxation, and laziness. German author Heiner Müller wrote that
what we really need in order to achieve a state of restfulness is a time
that frei ist von Konsum (is free of consumption). There is a
subversive element to the demand for this sort of time, since it erodes
the inexorability of production and consumption.

This search for rest is at the heart of EXIT,
a performance and a study by theatre-maker and artist Kris Verdonck and
dancer and choreographer Alix Eynaudi, together with Rutger Zuydervelt
(Machinefabriek), a creator of music and sound. On the basis of a
traditional theatre set-up – a room full of spectators in front of a
stage where something is being shown, the team wants to examine what
influence the various media the theatre has at its disposal (lighting,
sound, movement, language, visuals, set design, etc.) can have on the
sensory perception and mental attitude of the audience. To what extent
are artists capable of playing-on the spectator’s conscious or
subconscious mind when employing these theatrical resources?

EXIT“To be or not to be, (…)To die, to sleep, no more (…)To sleep! Perchance to dream (…)”William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act III, Scene I

An
audience comes to the theatre to ‘undergo’ or ‘experience’ something.
What stimuli do our brains absorb in the course of everyday life, and
how do these differ from those received during a performance? In theory,
the audience enters the theatre in a state of openness and
receptiveness. They sit, immobilised in seats, in the darkness of a
temperature-controlled space. Physically they are forced to remain
passive, and mentally – as a result of concentrating – they have to
take-in what is being shown; they are in an ‘altered’ state of
consciousness, a state of attentiveness different from that of daily
life (before and after the performance). These conditions can be
manipulated, for example, by making the darkness even more complete, by
raising the air temperature in the theatre, increasing the comfort of
the seats, and so on.

But what sorts of sensory stimuli produced
on stage are able to induce sleep? We know from our experience of the
cinema and television that sound can create tension, but can certain
sounds also bring about complete relaxation? Are there particular types
of light that can weaken our attention or even shut it down? Do
narrative structures have a greater impact on our alertness than
abstract forms (e.g. dance and music) in which repetition plays an
important part? Do concrete conflicts, situations, and characters better
hold our attention? Do we follow a line of dramatic development
consciously, unconsciously, or subconsciously? And what about the
language that we try to understand, but that can also have the effect of
an incantation, bringing about a stupor or intoxication? In addition to
generating all sorts of experiments within theatrical parameters, Kris
Verdonck and Alix Eynaudi also involved the knowledge of scientists and
parascientists in their working process: they contacted sleep
specialists, brain researchers, hypnotists, etc.

Kris Verdonck:
“Sleeping is about quality time, quality of living, learning,
understanding, evolving. However, sleep is absolutely underestimated is
the capitalistic / Fordism-like times we are living in: sleep is looked
at as a complete waste of time. Sleep in the way I see it now, is
something anarchistic, not in a destructive way, but dangerously
constructive. During the research stage, we discovered that there are
two different kinds of sleep / dreaming: There is the ‘deep sleep’,
where pertinent information absorbed during the day is stored and put in
a place where we can find it when needed. The second type is the ‘light
sleep’ or REM sleep. During this period, we make associations and
connections in order to understand things and develop an opinion about
them. So in our sleep, the brain renders information at all levels. If
we want to understand the world that surrounds us, sleep is essential.
To be able to take good decisions in our lives, we have to ‘sleep on it’
Our way of living and the way society is organized does not permit us
to take time to sleep, and thus, to make the right decisions. Without
sleep, our ideas and knowledge become superficial, like mass-produced
products, and are therefore easily overruled. Our ideas become less
dangerous. So in this sense, time really becomes a resource. It’s a
beautiful contradiction: by doing nothing we are more productive and our
knowledge is more profound. We become less fragile. Taking the time to
sleep well increases the quality of our lives and of our ideas.”

Kris Verdonck (b.
1974) studied visual arts, architecture, and theatre – this is evident
in his work. His creations are positioned in the transit zone between
visual arts and theatre, between installation and performance, between
dance and architecture. As a theatre maker and visual artist, he has
produced a wide variety of projects. Amongst other things, he has
directed theatre productions and made various installations, such as 5 (2003), Catching Whales is Easy (2004), and II (2005). The first of his works, STILLS,
was commissioned by La Notte Bianca in Rome, and consisted of gigantic
projections. In 2007, Verdonck created the theatrical installation I/II/III/IIII, and in 2008, END premiered at the Kunstenfestivaldesarts. He often presents combinations of different installations/performances called VARIATIONS. VARIATION IV was shown during the Festival d’Avignon in 2008. In 2010, he finished the ‘circuit performance’ ACTOR #1, which showed three variations on the theme of: from chaos to order. K, a Society is
a series of installations inspired by the work of Franz Kafka that
premiered at Theater der Welt in Germany in 2010. The following year,
Verdonck presented two research projects: TALK, which set out to explore language, and EXIT,
created with Alix Eynaudi, which aimed to tackle theatre as a medium.
In the same year, his first solo exhibition was held at the Z33 House
for Contemporary Art, together with a new work called EXOTE. In 2012, he created M, a reflection, a theatre production with texts by Heiner Müller, with actor Johan Leysen and his digital double on stage. H, an incident,
a musical theatre performance for the big stage, is based on the life
and work of Daniil Harms; it premiered in May 2013 during the
Kunstenfestivaldesarts. In October 2014, UNTITLED, a new solo
creation for Spanish dancer and performer Marc Iglesias, went into
premiere at the Kaaitheater. At the end of this year, ISOS, a
3D video installation based on the world and characters from the
apocalyptic science-fiction novels of J.G. Ballard, is due to be
completed.

Alix Eynaudi (b. 1976) was trained as a
ballet dancer in the Opéra of Paris. She worked in various ballet
companies before entering P.A.R.T.S. when the school first opened. In
1996 she joined Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s company Rosas, where she
worked for seven years, taking part in the creation of six pieces: Just Before, Drumming, I said I, In real Time, Rain, April me, as well as to the retake of repertory pieces such as Woud, Achterland, and Fase. Since 2005 Alix Eynaudi has been creating her own pieces: Crystalll, in collaboration with Alice Chauchat (2005); Supernaturel (2007); Komposition (2008) in collaboration with Anne Juren, Marianne Baillot and Agata Maszkiewicz; The Visitants (2008) and Long Long Short Long Short (2009), both in collaboration with Agata Maszkiewicz; EXIT (2011), in collaboration with Kris Verdonck; Monique (2012), in collaboration with Mark Lorimer. She is currently preparing a new piece, Edelweiss,
which will premiere in October 2015. Besides creating her own work,
Eynaudi continues to develop projects with other artists, both as a
collaborator and a performer. She took part in projects as a performer
with the collective Superamas, Kris Verdonck, and Anne Juren, and she is
currently touring with Boris Charmatz for his new piece manger. Alix Eynaudi’s artistic practice also involves teaching workshops at a.o. P.A.R.T.S. (Brussels) and ImpulsTanz (Vienna).